It was nervy stuff for a while,
though. Marouane Chamakh opened the scoring for Crystal Palace before
falling from his pedestal.

After
Charlie Adam had equalised for Stoke, the Moroccan, signed on a free
transfer from Arsenal, was guilty of some feeble defending that allowed
Ryan Shawcross to sweep home what proved to be the winning goal.

Some
start to his Potteries management for Mark Hughes. There were
encouraging signs of a more ground-based game at Liverpool last weekend
and this week it yielded points, even if it was traditional Stoke
steadfastness that helped them see out the game.

‘Premier League points are like gold dust,’ said Hughes. ‘These were important for us.

‘It
was never mentioned to me that the playing style needed to change when I
was brought in,’ added Hughes, who will try to bring in more players
with pace this week.

‘I
just looked at the group and I just felt they were capable of playing
differently without changing the style that has made them successful. We
are still going to put the ball into the box when it’s needed. We will
just try to build on other parts of the game.’

It
was a hard lesson for Palace, who showed elements of shrewd manager Ian
Holloway’s breezy Blackpool that he also brought up to the top flight.

‘We
have to stick together the way we did in the first half before we
tired,’ he said. ‘We need to get certain people in before the end of the
week and get some points quickly otherwise these things build and
build.’

Palace took a
while to find their feet, but Chamakh, perhaps freed from the greater
expectations at Arsenal, offered them a fine outlet as leader of the
line and once he had given them the lead just after the half-hour,
Palace grew in confidence.

Damien
Delaney hoisted a long ball forward and Chamakh shrugged off Ryan
Shawcross easily before turning inside Robert Huth to drill home a low
shot from 12 yards.

Palace
might have doubled the lead before the break. Dean Moxey drove a low
left-footed shot just wide and Jose Campana curled a free-kick just over
the bar.

They paid for
not taking those chances as Stoke came out with renewed intent after the
interval and were soon level when Peter Crouch challenged for Matthew
Etherington’s cross and the ball dropped to Jonathan Walters who set up
Adam to sidefoot home.

Within
five minutes, Stoke led. Chamakh failed to clear and allowed Huth to
steal the ball, which fell for Shawcross to swivel and guide home from
close range.

Smashing: Shawcross scores from close range

Handy: Ryan Shawcross celebrates scoring Stoke's second goal

Pants: Stoke's Jonathan Walters walks around without his shorts on

Holloway brought on two substitutes immediately, one for the weary Chamakh, but Stoke held firm.What most incensed Holloway was the Palace fans singing mischievously for Hughes’s sacking when Stoke trailed.

‘They’ve been great and they should keep enjoying themselves but nobody should sing about a manager getting sacked,’ he said.